Friday, November 30, 2012

The leader of the Tunisian Islamist party that rose to power after the first Arab Spring uprising last year said this week that Islamist movements would eventually emerge triumphant throughout the Arab world after a difficult transition period.

Rached al-Ghannouchi, whose Ennahda party governs with two junior leftist partners, said secular groups should join forces with Islamists to manage the first phase after autocratic rulers were removed.

But in the end, Islam will be the “reference point.”

“The Arab world is going through a transition phase which needs coalitions to govern, which brings together Islamist and secular trends,” Ghannouchi said in an interview during a trip to London where he spoke at Chatham House.

“These coalitions will lead to eventual rapprochement between the Islamists and the secularists.”

However, he added Islamists would have the upper hand.

“There’s a true way that Islam represents the common ground for everyone … Eventually Islam becomes a reference point for everyone,” he said.

"Media naturally gravitate toward dramatic and highly visual stories. Reports of 5.5 million Israelis gathered nightly in bomb shelters scarcely compete with the Palestinian father interviewed after losing his son. Both are, of course, newsworthy, but the first tells a more complete story while the second stirs emotions.This is precisely what Hamas wants. It seeks to instill a visceral disgust for any Israeli act of self-defense, even one taken after years of unprovoked aggression."

"The terrorists thought that hiding in a civilian building and using international journalists as human shields would ensure their safety. Once IDF Intelligence learned of their location, the IDF surgically targeted their hiding place. A direct hit was confirmed."

"The real question raised by Mr. Carr’s column is whether a station that is ideologically motivated and subsidized by a terrorist organization deserves the same treatment as CNN or The New York Times. Moreover, should a Hamas commander who painted the words “TV” on his car be considered a journalist?
Mr. Carr is quick to incriminate the Israel Defense Forces for targeting journalists, but he does not mention that terrorists are actively exploiting journalists as shields.Mr. Carr is worried about freedom of the press and rightly so. However, when terrorist organizations exploit reporters, either by posing as them or by hiding behind them, they are the immediate threat to freedom of the press.Such terrorists, who hold cameras and notebooks in their hands, are no different from their colleagues who fire rockets aimed at Israeli cities and cannot enjoy the rights and protection afforded to legitimate journalists."

"Prior to discovering the footage posted below, which shows the funeral of Ahmed, BBC Watch says they contacted the IDF who confirmed that he was a known terrorist. The blog also writes that the al-Qassam Brigades wrote of his death on their English-language website. Additionally, as you can see in the picture above, he is wrapped in a green Hamas flag at the funeral."

There's no reason for surprise that TA bus bomb suspect is Palestinian given citizenship under "family reunion."
"There was no reason for the shocked reactions in Israel following the disclosure that the suspected perpetrator of the bus bombing in Tel Aviv last week was a Palestinian Arab who had been granted Israeli citizenship to facilitate a “family reunion.”

The latest anti-terror arrest in the Hevron region unveiled a weapons storehouse in a private home.
"The IDF has been stepping up its fight against Hamas in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) in wake of the recent open battle with Hamas in Gaza. Earlier this week troops went to arrest a terror suspect in Hevron and ended up finding a weapons warehouse in a private home."

Well, it seems that they failed to mention one quite significant element of the UN resolution (which passed with 33 votes in favor, 13 against, 10 abstentions and one absent). Res. 181 not only called for the creation of a Jewish state, but the creation of an Arab one as well.

"CST’s 2011 Report on Antisemitic Discourse clearly demonstrates the Guardian’s continuing antisemitic sins of ‘commission and, just as dangerous, ‘omission’: their silence in the face of clear evidence of antisemitism when covering a story. "

"Such journalist activists – whether they’re at the Guardian or the BBC – are risking more than their own reputations. If Guardian and BBC editors continually allow their journalists to make such egregious errors with impunity, and report the news in a manner resembling political advocacy rather than professional journalism, whatever remaining credibility they may have will continue to erode."

"When you hear Arab accounts of so-called Israeli “massacres” and “bestiality,” remember that the Arab foes of Israel have perfected a modern literary motif known as “the Arab atrocity story” which usually turns out to be a contrived work of fiction."

"The Syrian government has shut down the internet across the country and cut mobile phone services in select areas as rebels and government troops waged fierce battles near the capital's airport. International airlines were forced to suspend flights."

Let’s stop demonizing Israel. The new analogy I invite Arabs to use can be rendered: “Israel Is a Sister.”
"As a researcher in cognitive linguistics and critical discourse analysis, I can say that the reason bad analogies are so dangerous is that they can constrain and direct our policies. The above analogy, for example, highlights that Israel is a killer of innocence, suppressing the fact that Hamas fires rockets at innocent Israeli civilians. Importantly, depicting Israel as a demon implies that there can be no peace with it. If this were the case, how can Egypt play the role of peace broker between Israel and Palestine?"

"Here's Councillor Richard Humphreys (Labour) speaking on 25 November at a pro-Israel rally in Dublin. While by no means unsympatheti to the Palestinians, he calls for a more balanced approach in Ireland to the Middle East situation, and pays tribute not only to Israel but to the Jewish presence in Ireland."

Al Arabiya reports on an Arab network that obtained a copy of an internal Iranian report that is very pessimistic about the situation there.

According to the report, Iranian officials privately admit the country is not in a good position to meet external challenges, especially with regard to Syria ansd the nuclear issue, although Tehran is trying to show a united front in the statements of its officials.

The report says Iran is currently facing the most serious crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1980. According to the report, the cause of these concerns is the combination of economic mismanagement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and severe sanctions imposed on Iran after failing to convince the world that its nuclear program has no military dimensions. The report added that this would lead to social unrest on a large scale in the country.

Iran faces major problems in securing imports of agricultural materials and food, as a result of tough sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe on the economy, including a ban on imports of Iranian oil and the prohibition of financial transactions and banking with Tehran.

The report says that the Iranian government is currently struggling to meet their need to import more than 10 million tons of wheat per month, and they have been forced to bring in stocks of lower-quality grain. Prominent Iranian leaders are also concerned of a potential government inability to pay the salaries of its staff, warning that this in particular would be a flashpoint to trigger demonstrations and unrest throughout the country.

Some senior officials hope the election of a new president in the next year will improve the situation, but this seems unlikely as long as the sanctions for Iran's refusal to comply with its nuclear obligations and to cease its enrichment activities continues.

The greatest impact of the sanctions on Iran came after the European Union's decision to stop importing Iranian oil from July, according to the report.

Al Mesryoon reports that The Grand Sheikh Mustafa Atfy an undersecretary of the Ministry of [Islamic] Endowments in Egypt, has called for a "jihad" to "liberate Jerusalem."

he said that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is sacred in Islam; it is not merely a historic or archaeological shrine, but a sacred Islamic place.

Al-Atfy added that Jerusalem is not just occupied, but a basic Islamic issue. He stressed that its "liberation from the hands of the usurper Jews" would affirm its sanctity and "jihad for the liberation of Jerusalem is an Islamic duty for every Muslim."

This is not only a preacher, but an Egyptian government official essentially calling for holy war against Israel.

Palestinian Arab TV refused to show Israel's UN ambassador Ron Prosor's excellent response to Mahmoud Abbas' hate-filled speech at the UN yesterday, so it makes sense to ensure that it is widely available:Today I stand before you tall and proud because I represent the world’s one and only Jewish state. A state built in the Jewish people’s ancient homeland, with its eternal capital Jerusalem as its beating heart.

We are a nation with deep roots in the past and bright hopes for the future. We are a nation that values idealism, but acts with pragmatism. Israel is a nation that never hesitates to defend itself, but will always extend its hand for peace.

Peace is a central value of Israeli society. The bible calls on us:

“seek peace and pursue it.”

Peace fills our art and poetry. It is taught in our schools. It has been the goal of the Israeli people and every Israeli leader since Israel was re-established 64 years ago.

Israel’s Declaration of Independence states, “We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help…”

This week was the 35th anniversary of President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem. In a speech just before that visit, President Sadat famously stood in the Egyptian parliament in Cairo and stated that he would go “to the ends of the earth” to make peace with Israel.
Israel’s Prime Minister at the time, Menachem Begin, welcomed President Sadat to Israel, and paved the way for peace. This morning Prime Minister Netanyahu stood at the Menachem Begin Center at said this about the resolution that you are about to vote on: ”Israel is prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state, but for peace to endure, Israel’s security must be protected. The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish State and they must be prepared to end the conflict with Israel once and for all.

None of these vital interests, these vital interests of peace, none of them appear in the resolution that will be put forward before the General Assembly today and that is why Israel cannot accept it. The only way to achieve peace is through agreements that are reached by the parties and not through U.N. resolutions that completely ignore Israel’s vital security and national interests. And because this resolution is so one-sided, it doesn’t advance peace, it pushes it backwards.

As for the rights of Jewish people in this land, I have a simple message for those people gathered in the General Assembly today, no decision by the U.N. can break the 4000 year old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.”

Mr. President,
The People of Israel wait for a Palestinian leader that is willing to follow in the path of President Sadat. The world waits for President Abbas to speak the truth that peace can only be achieved through negotiations by recognizing Israel as a Jewish State. It waits for him to tell them that peace must also address Israel’s security needs and end the conflict once and for all.

For as long as President Abbas prefers symbolism over reality, as long as he prefers to travel to New York for UN resolutions, rather than travel to Jerusalem for genuine dialogue, any hope of peace will be out of reach.

Mr. President,
Israel has always extended its hand for peace and will always extend its hand for peace. When we faced an Arab leader who wanted peace, we made peace. That was the case with Egypt. That was the case with Jordan.

Time and again, we have sought peace with the Palestinians. Time and again, we have been met by rejection of our offers, denial of our rights, and terrorism targeting our citizens.

President Abbas described today’s proceedings as “historic”. But the only thing historic about his speech is how much it ignored history.
The truth is that 65 years ago today, the United Nations voted to partition the British Mandate into two states: a Jewish state, and an Arab state. Two states for two peoples.

Israel accepted this plan. The Palestinians and Arab nations around us rejected it and launched a war of annihilation to throw the “Jews into the sea”.

The truth is that from 1948 until 1967, the West Bank was ruled by Jordan, and Gaza was ruled by Egypt. The Arab states did not lift a finger to create a Palestinian state. Instead they sought Israel’s destruction, and were joined by newly formed Palestinian terrorist organizations.

The truth is that at Camp David in 2000, and again at Annapolis in 2008, Israeli leaders made far-reaching offers for peace. Those offers were met by rejection, evasion, and even terrorism.

The truth is that to advance peace, in 2005 Israel dismantled entire communities and uprooted thousands of people from their homes in the Gaza Strip. And rather than use this opportunity to build a peaceful future, the Palestinians turned Gaza into an Iranian terror base, from which thousands of rockets were fired into Israeli cities. As we were reminded just last week, the area has been turned into a launching pad for rockets into Israeli cities, a haven for global terrorists, and an ammunition dump for Iranian weapons.

Time after time, the Palestinian leadership refused to accept responsibility. They refused to make the tough decisions for peace.

Israel remains committed to peace, but we will not establish another Iranian terror base in the heart of our country.

We need a peace that will ensure a secure future for Israel.
Three months ago, Israel’s Prime Minister stood in this very hall and extended his hand in peace to President Abbas. He reiterated that his goal was to create a solution of two-states for two-peoples—where a demilitarized Palestinian state will recognize Israel as a Jewish State.

That’s right. Two states for two peoples.

In fact, President Abbas, I did not hear you use the phrase “two states for two peoples” this afternoon. In fact, I have never heard you say the phrase “two states for two peoples”. Because the Palestinian leadership has never recognized that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people.

They have never been willing to accept what this very body recognized 65 years ago. Israel is the Jewish state.

In fact, today you asked the world to recognize a Palestinian state, but you still refuse to recognize the Jewish state.

Not only do you not recognize the Jewish state, you are also trying to erase Jewish history. This year, you even tried to erase the connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. You said that Jews were trying to alter the historic character of Jerusalem. You said that we are trying to “Judaize Jerusalem”.

President Abbas, the truth is that Jerusalem had a Jewish character long before most cities in the world had any character! Three thousand years ago King David ruled from Jerusalem and Jews have lived in Jerusalem ever since.

President Abbas, instead of revising history, it is time that you started making history by making peace with Israel.

Mr. President,

This resolution will not advance peace.

This resolution will not change the situation on the ground. It will not change the fact that the Palestinian Authority has no control over Gaza. That is forty percent of the territory he claims to represent!
President Abbas, you can’t even visit nearly half the territory of the state you claim to represent.

That territory is controlled by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization that rains missiles on Israel’s civilians. This is the same Hamas that fired more than 1,300 rockets into the heart of Israel’s major cities this month.

This resolution will not confer statehood on the Palestinian Authority, which clearly fails to meet the criteria for statehood.

This resolution will not enable the Palestinians Authority to join international treaties, organizations, or conferences as a state.

This resolution cannot serve as an acceptable terms of reference for peace negotiations with Israel. Because this resolution says nothing about Israel’s security needs. It does not call on the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the Jewish State. It does not demand an end of conflict and a termination of all claims.

Let me tell you what this resolution does do.

This resolution violates a fundamental binding commitment. This is a commitment that many of the states here today were themselves witness to. It was a commitment that all outstanding issues in the peace process would only be resolved in direct negotiations.

This resolution sends a message that the international community is willing to turn a blind eye to peace agreements. For the people of Israel, it raises a simple question: why continue to make painful sacrifices for peace, in exchange for pieces of paper that the other side will not honor?

It will make a negotiated peace settlement less likely, as Palestinians continue to harden their positions and place further obstacles and preconditions to negotiations and peace.

And unfortunately, it will raise expectations that cannot be met, which has always proven to be a recipe for conflict and instability.

There is only one route to Palestinian statehood. And that route does not run through this chamber in New York. That route runs through direct negotiations between Jerusalem and Ramallah that will lead to a secure and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

There are no shortcuts. No quick fixes. No instant solutions. As President Obama, said in 2010, “Peace cannot be imposed from the outside.”

The real message of this resolution for the people of Israel is that the international community will turn a blind eye to violations of these agreements by the Palestinians.

Mr. President,
In submitting this resolution, the Palestinian leadership is once again making the wrong choice.

65 years ago the Palestinians could have chosen to live side-by-side with the Jewish State of Israel. 65 years ago they could have chosen to accept the solution of two states for two peoples. They rejected it then, and they are rejecting it again today.

The international community should not encourage this rejection. It should not encourage the Palestinian leadership to drive forward recklessly with both feet pressing down on the gas, no hands on the wheel, and no eyes on the road.

Instead it should encourage the Palestinians to enter into direct negotiations without preconditions in order to achieve an historic peace in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state.

Mr. President,
Winston Churchill said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it … ignorance may deride it … malice may distort it … but there it is.”
The truth is that Israel wants peace, and the Palestinians are avoiding peace.

Those who are supporting the resolution today are not advancing peace. They are undermining peace.

The UN was founded to advance the cause of peace. Today the Palestinians are turning their back on peace. Don’t let history record that today the UN helped them along on their march of folly.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

During the past week I noted that both Robert Serry, the UN's envoy to the Middle East, and Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur, claimed that Hamas was ready to recognize Israel after a Palestinian Arab state was established.

They follow in the footsteps of Ethan Bronner of the NYT, Karl Vick of Time magazine, and a host of so-called Middle East "experts" who refuse to believe Hamas' leaders clear statements they speak in Arabic, and instead overlay their own biases and hopes on top of purposefully ambiguous statements made in English - specifically to fool the West.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh confirmed his support for any political achievement earned by the Palestinian people "on the road to grab the state." Haniyeh stressed in a statement received by "Palestine Today" on Thursday evening, 29/11/2012, that any political achievement must be "on the basis of lack of recognition of the occupier or compromise of our strategy and our principles, first and foremost the right of return."

Haniyeh's words correspond with what Hamas Political Bureau head Khaled Meshaal said previously, as he stressed the "need to be a move in the context of a vision and a national strategy keeps the principles and national rights, and based on the strength of our Palestinian people, especially the resistance."

Member of the political bureau of Hamas Ezzat Rishq earlier said that [the PLO should] go to the United Nations to get the label of observer State, but without giving up or compromising any inch of Palestinian land from the sea to the river. Rishq said: "We support any achievement won by our people and our Palestinian national cause in all forums so as to maintain the rights of our people."

It is really hard to misinterpret such clear statements. Yet clueless Westerners do it every single day. (And the people interviewing them are equally clueless to challenge them when they spew their nonsense.)

It's not like it is news that Palestinian Arabs talk deceptively in English and tell the truth in Arabic. Arafat did it for decades. But some people refuse to believe it - because they would prefer to bet Israel's existence on Arab lies.

"And how will violating past agreements encourage Israelis to trust Palestinians to abide by future agreements? The just-ended Hamas conflict underlined Israel’s dilemma, which in any future peace deal will have to give up territory and thus security."

“If the Palestinian Authority wishes to be regarded like a state, it must act as one,” he said. “That includes fulfilling all agreements. We will demand international guarantees from now on for any commitment the PA makes in any negotiations,” Ayalon said, considering the poor record the PA has had fulfilling previous agreements."

"What cannot be allowed to continue is this defeatist assumption that vicious terrorism needs to be bought off, that there is no way militarily and politically to defeat our enemies, and that in even attempting to do so we are committing crimes as bad as they. The ghastly doctrine of moral equivalence that lurks in those assumptions is far more dangerous than any missile that Hamas can fire at Tel Aviv, or bus-bomb it can let off."

“If we really want to take an effective stand against extremism, we should not obsess over the extremists; rather, we should tackle those who facilitate, empower and legitimize extremism. The worst culprits are particular British Members of Parliament – elected officials whom we employ to safeguard our liberties and democratic rights but who betray these duties in favor of promoting the work of terror advocates. We have given terror and its apologists a platform, while we deny truth, reason and accountability a voice.”

Ha'aretz translators are at it again: downplaying Palestinian violence for the benefit of its English readers by wrongly translating the original Hebrew article, and even inserting false information that doesn't appear in the Hebrew.

"That the editors chose to run a partisan article indicting Israel and glorifying Palestinian smugglers while ignoring the malignant role played by smugglers in Iran/Hamas' war against Israel is disturbing because it indicates that accepted journalistic standards of accuracy and balance have no place at National Geographic."

"Sickeningly, McGreal allows Nizar and Jindal the space in his piece to excuse themselves as mere victims, the implication being that the real criminals were Smadga, Amselam, Scharf and Scharf’s unborn child who weren’t “civilians”.

"It is implausible that the BBC – having filmed and broadcast Ahmed Masharawi at his funeral wrapped in a Hamas flag – is unaware of the Masharawi family’s connections to Hamas – a terror organization proscribed by the British government and many others."

"In a strongly worded statement to the committee, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, Guillermo Rishchynski, condemned Iran’s discrimination against Christians, Jews and other religious minorities, but also noted the regime’s release of 130 political prisoners and its recent engagement with the UN Human Rights Committee."

"A 57-year-old Jewish woman was brutally stabbed to death and her body mutilated on Monday by Muslim attackers in the Iranian city of Isfahan, in what her family says was a religiously motivated crime related to a property dispute, Menashe Amir, an expert on Iranian Jewry who spoke with the victim’s family, has told The Times of Israel."

On 21 September 2012, the International Day of Peace, the Nomadic Memorial Cast Lead was first performed in The Hague, City of Peace and Justice. From the 30st October till the 2nd of November 2012, the nomadic monument was shown in Bozar, Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. For the finissage on the 2nd of November 2012 - All Souls' Day - the acknowledged Palestinian playwright and actor, Taher Najib gave a lecture-performance.

Reminiscent of a graveyard, the Cast Lead installation consists of 1430 unique books 'floating' above the floor in battle-array. Each copy of the book has the name of one of the casualties of Operation Cast Lead, carried out by the Israel Army in Gaza during 2008/2009, on its cover. The books contain texts by writers, artists and thinkers from both the East and West. Each of these books is a monument filled with knowledge that proved incapable of changing the course of events.

Would you like to cooperate in the realisation of this work of art? For the price of €65, you will receive your own unique book as part of the work of art.

The 1430 books are now for sale, and only one person/book will ever be sold. You will have a unique piece of artwork and a remembrance of one of the people who lost a life and will now never be forgotten.

The artists are raising money for a traveling presentation to be opened in Paris in 2013, but these books, the first ones, will be the only copies offered for sale.

Would you like to purchase one of these pieces of art? For €65 ($85.00), including taxes and shipping, you will receive your unique book. The holidays are coming. This gift is perfect for people who have wondered how to memorialize the names of the dead of Operation Cast Lead.

Out of those 1430 books, roughly half are memorializing the names of terrorists. (Some are memorializing people killed by Hamas. Some are memorializing people who weren't killed in Cast Lead at all, since the number of real victims was less than 1430. Shhhhh. )

Al Madenah News has an article by Dr. Sheikh Salim bin Eid al-Hilal claiming that Jews, today, are coveting the land of Jordan.

He puts a few real facts together with his fantasy:

Early Zionists were interested in settling both sides of the Jordan. Of course this is true, before the early 1920s there was never any political boundary between eastern and western Palestine - it was all one unit, which brings up the question of why today's Palestinian Arabs are only interested in the western part for their state.

Early Zionists purchased land in Transjordan. Also true.

The Revisionist Zionists felt cheated out of the East Bank land after the British partitioned it off and called it Transjordan. True as well.

Jews say that parts of Jordan were parts of Eretz Israel. This is basic history, although this writer doesn't believe it.

Then he goes a bit crazy, claiming that a 1968 military clash between Israel and Jordan was an attempted land grab. And that Ariel Sharon planned to invade Jordan during the second Gulf War.

Now, he is nervous that Jewish tourists visiting Jordan aren't really interested in Jordanian attractions - but in the (false, he claims) history of Jews in the area during the days of Joshua and King David!

Instead, he claims, not only have Jews failed to find any archaeological evidence of their ever being in the east bank of the Jordan River, but none on the west bank either!

Finally, the best part: The Jews, he says, are releasing wild pigs, and hamsters, and wild dog/wolf hybrids, along the border and into Jordanian farmland, in order to vex the Jordanians and (presumably) to drive them out so the Jews can swoop in and take the land from them.

How deliciously evil we are! Not only do we breed pigs and wolves (and hamsters) that can distinguish between Jewish and Jordanian farmland, but we train them to swim as well across the river!

The Jerusalem Municipality awarded initial approval to a plan to rebuild the Tiferet Israel synagogue in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, a magnificent domed synagogue from the 19th century which was destroyed in the 1948 War of Independence.

The project will recreate the three-story-tall synagogue as well as the iconic dome on the top, with only minor changes to the original, such as the introduction of an elevator to make the building more accessible.

On Tuesday, the municipality’s Local Planning and Building Committee approved the plan for the next step of the process, where it must receive the approval of the Interior Ministry.

An anonymous donor who has been active in previous rebuilding projects in the Old City donated nearly NIS 50 million needed for reconstruction, said Shlomi Attias, the Old City project manager for The Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem Ltd. (JQDC).

The JQDC is a public company under the auspices of the Construction and Housing Ministry.

The synagogue is located just a few hundred meters from the Western Wall Plaza, in the same plaza as the Hurva.

Ashkenazi Hassidim bought the land for Tiferet Israel Synagogue in 1843, though the building wasn’t inaugurated until 1872. The synagogue is also known as the Nissan Bek synagogue, after its founder.

Here's a model of what the rebuilt synagogue, destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948, will look like:

The Al Aqsa Heritage Foundation is freaking out, claiming that the building is being built on the ruins of an Islamic chapel. (Isn't everything?) It also says that this synagogue, along with the Hurva and Ohel Yitzchak, are on areas belonging to the Islamic Waqf. (Isn't everything?)

I once made a video of a "flyover" of Jerusalem in the 1930s, based on high-resolution photographs. Tiferet Israel is prominently featured, right near the Hurva Synagogue.

It is worth mentioning that besides the fact that Muslims object to synagogues in Jerusalem altogether, they are especially peeved that this one - together with Hurva - are so tall, giving the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque competition in the Old City skyline (the Jewish Quarter is situated on a hill.)

Ma'an has details on how the seven people brutally murdered for "collaboration" in Gaza were all already in custody, and how the initial claims of Hamas that they were "caught red-handed" in spying for Israel during the recent fighting is an obvious lie. It also pretty much proves that Hamas purposefully handed them over to the murderers.

"We will not allow one collaborator to be in Gaza, and let human rights groups say whatever they want. A human has rights if they have honor and not if they are a traitor," he said Saturday.

Which pretty much sums up Hamas' attitude towards human rights. They only apply to people they agree with.

And if "collaborators" with Jewish Israelis don't have human rights, then the Jews themselves obviously don't, either.

I'm sure that human rights groups have roundly criticized Zahar's statements by now. I mean, he said it on Saturday. There must have been a bunch of press releases and outraged tweets since then. I just must have missed them.

At approximately 17:45 on Sunday, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a group of Palestinian civilians near al-Rahma Mosque in al-Nussairat refugee camp. As a result, 2 civilians were killed: Atiya Abdullah Mubarak, 56; and Hussam Hussein Abu Shawish, 37.

Hamas' Al Qassam website describes Atiya Mubarak as one of their mujahadeen, despite his age. He joined Hamas in 1998 and the Al Qassam Brigades in 2007. He participated in Cast Lead and worked on logistics behind sending terrorists to battle, "competing with the youth in jihad for the sake of Allah."

PCHR again:

At approximately 16:30, an Israeli drone fired a missile at a number of Palestinian civilians in al-Salatin Street in Beit Lahia, killing one of them, Fadi Mousa Sameer al-Qatanani, 29, and 6 others, including two children, were wounded.

The Al Qassam website says that "since Fadi was a child, he wished to carry a gun to fight the enemies of God, the Jews; constantly repeating slogans of jihad, his eyes yearning to jihad and martyrdom, and the castles of glory and honor and dignity."

He was a member of the Qassam Brigades for over ten years, working in smuggling tunnels as well as "repelling invasions" from Israel in northern Gaza.

Hamas says they are mujahadeen. PCHR says they are civilians.

Keep in mind that there are only several thousand Al Qassam Brigades members at the most, among a population of some 1.6 million in Gaza. If Israel was just randomly firing into "civilians" the odds of hitting a Qassam Brigades member is about one in 300.

As I have mentioned before, there are two major things Abbas is trying to accomplish.

One is to use the status of being a "non-member state" to be able to prosecute Israel in the International Criminal Court. (Sort of how he used UNESCO membership also not for anything positive for his people, but to delegitimize the Jewish claim to the Land of Israel.)

The other is to throw language about the mythical "1967 borders" into the resolution, so that he can claim that the UN General Assembly has declared the borders of his state - even though it has no legal right to do so.

Remember - this is also the 65th anniversary of the unanimous Arab rejection of the UNGA resolution calling for the partition of Palestine that would have created a Palestinian Arab state.

Arabs think that there should be no consequences for their actions and that they can roll back the clock whenever they want to in order to erase their mistakes, whether the mistakes were made in 1947, 1948, 1967 or 2001.

Sadly, much of the world agrees with them when the only party that stands to lose is Israel.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

An op-ed in Hamas mouthpiece Felesteen claims that the current protests in Egypt are, of course, a Jewish plot.

Playing off the recent Arab obsession with Tzipi Livni, the article quotes an interview with Al Quds al Arabi editor Abdel Bari Atwan a few days ago claiming that Livni met with Amr Moussa, former head of the Arab League and failed Egyptian presidential candidate, on November 4 in Ramallah. During that meeting, Livni was said to demand that Moussa start a series of internal problems in Egypt to overwhelm the Morsi government, and Moussa - obeying his Jewish master (or mistress) - did exactly that.

I think Livni might now qualify as an Eldress. Her powers of persuasion are truly awesome. Arab men in particular seem to find her irresistible.

Meanwhile, the article charges, other minions of the vast Jewish conspiracy did their part, like an interview that Mohamed elBaradei had with Der Spiegel saying that the ruling government bans music at weddings and has members who deny the Holocaust, and editor of Asharq al-Awsat Tariq Hamid "and his ilk" who are writing articles critical of the Egyptian regime.

"Mashaal told CNN's Christiane Amanpour: "I accept a Palestinian state according to 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital, with the right of return [of millions of Palestinians to Israel]."
The Hamas leader's remark has since been misinterpreted by some Westerners as a sign that the radical Islamist movement, which was established 25 years ago with the declared goal of destroying Israel, has now abandoned its ideology and is on its way to endorsing a softer approach.
But while Mashaal was speaking on CNN, several Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip were talking -- in Arabic -- about their intention to pursue the fight against Israel until the "liberation of all our lands, from the sea to the river."

"The commitment by Hamas to destroy Israel and wipe out every Jew on earth is considered all but irrelevant. There can only be a solution if Hamas is involved, goes this thinking, because it is in power over the Palestinians – and there can only be a solution that is brokered between Israel and the Palestinians."

"To permit Israeli soldiers effectively to prevent armaments from reaching Gaza, David Eshel of Defense Update argued in 2009 for the IDF taking back the Philadelphi Corridor and increasing its size to “a fully sterile security line of about 1,000 meters,” even though this would mean having to relocate about 50,000 Gaza residents. Interestingly, the Palestinian Authority’s Ahmed Qurei privately endorsed similar steps in 2008."

"Anyone who is actually concerned about the welfare of the people of Gaza, and does not belong to the church of “it’s all Israel’s fault” would have focused the generous resources provided by foreign donors (including the New Israel Fund and anonymous European government officials) on liberating Gaza’s citizens and Israelis from Hamas."

"Why do Western governments like Great Britain, France, Italy, and Austria continue to allow radical Islamic charities to operate freely on their soil and to fund Hamas institutions like Jabari’s Al Nur Prisoners Society? Why do EU governments, facing their own fiscal cliffs, continue to fund the Palestinian Authority’s enormous subsidies to terrorists and their families? Only when Europe and the United States get serious about stopping the flow of money to men like Ahmed Jabari can there be any realistic hope of writing a less grim ending to this conflict."

"The PLO’s UN bid is misguided and wrongheaded and will do nothing but add to the long list of historic mistakes made by Palestinian leadership which date back at least to November 29, 1947 when Palestinians failed to grab their chance for nationhood and self-determination."

"Britain should vote no to the Palestinians' diversionary tactics at the UN. If we do vote in favour, never again do I want to hear British officials garbling on about being friends of Israel, or Israeli officials talking about Britain being the "responsible adult in the room".

Israellycool: Must-Read Thoughts Of a Palestinian
Remember the palestinian who supported the IDF getting rid of Hamas and retaking the Gaza Strip?
Well, he’s back, this time publishing a post on the shoddy treatment of palestinians throughout the Arab world, especially when compared to their treatment by Israel.

Journalist interviews Hamas TV spokesman about PMW VIDEO
"Journalist Suroosh Alvi from Vice magazine interviews a spokesman from Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas TV). Alvi tells the spokesman about PMW, an Israeli organization that monitors channels like Al-Aqsa TV in order to expose "how radical the people in Gaza are." The spokesman responds, "They also say to their people that killing a Palestinian is good. So this [is] a different way to see [things]."

"Among those on hand for Monday’s ceremony was Israel’s consul general in Mumbai, Orna Sagiv, who was in Mumbai at the time of the 2008 massacre, in which members of a Pakistan-based terror group attacked several sites in the city, including luxury hotels, a train station and a popular cafe. More than 170 people were killed in the attacks."

Over 100,000 defiant protesters occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday to demand the cancellation of President Mohamed Morsi's controversial Thursday decree. Egypt’s ruling Islamists, however, showed no sign of backing down, suggesting that continued political deadlock is inevitable.

Facing his most serious domestic test since assuming power on 30 June, Morsi finds himself embroiled in a battle – with leftists, liberals, socialists, and several other influential political sectors – after issuing a decree that would shield his decisions from legal challenge until a new parliament is elected.

His decree also protects the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly (tasked with drafting the country's first post-revolution constitution) and the Shura Council (the upper house of Egypt's parliament) from dissolution. It also relieved Egyptian Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud of his duties, bringing in Judge Talaat Abdullah as Mahmoud's replacement.

In rallies that remained largely peaceful, thousands took to the streets in Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut, Tanta, Mahalla, Mansoura, Luxor, Suez and Port Said, in scenes reminiscent of last year's 18-day uprising that unseated autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi, backed by Islamist parties and groups, has so far withstood immense pressure to reverse his decision, which has prompted opponents to brand him Egypt's "new Pharaoh."

He has also incurred the wrath of Egypt's judges, many of whom vowed to challenge his decree by calling strikes. Many journalists and lawyers were similarly infuriated by the president's latest move, which they believe poses a threat to democracy.

Thousands of lawyers marched from their syndicate to Tahrir Square, the cradle of last year's revolt, chanting "The people want the fall of the regime" – a slogan frequently heard during Mubarak's final days in power.

The Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, launched an attack on Morsi's opponents, accusing them of "not caring about the country's national interests."

"On January 25, united Egyptians [Islamists, liberals and leftists] revolted against autocracy, supported by millions across the country. Today is politics," the Islamist group declared on Twitter.

"When ordinary Egyptians across the nation see pro-Mubarak [elements] protesting in Tahrir along with Islamists' rivals, they know this isn't January 25," the group added. "The opposition thinks the significance of today is of Tahrir protestors; they should brace for millions in support of the elected president.”

The Brotherhood had initially planned to hold parallel demonstrations on Tuesday, but backtracked at the last minute to avoid potential clashes with its political rivals.

If the voting for Egypt's parliament is any guide, the 100,000 protesters are no match for what the Islamists can muster if they just say the word. So far, the protesters have been largely peaceful, and the Brotherhood has (wisely) chosen to avoid counterprotests that could easily devolve into violence.

Moreover, the protesters have no central idea unifying them outside of opposition to Morsi's decree. They are all over the map politically and even if they force new elections, the results would be the same. So right now they are limited to clever slogans and quips (“Shave your beard and show us your face, so we can see your true disgrace: you look just like Mubarak!” "“It used to be soccer distracted us from lousy presidents. Now lousy presidents are distracting us from soccer.”)

Morsi himself has given no indication of backing down in the least, and he even indirectly issued a veiled threat against the protesters:

President Mohamed Morsy will not retreat on the controversial constitutional declaration he issued Thursday, according to his chief of staff, Mohamed Refaa al-Tahtawi.

In an interview with Al-Hayat 2 satellite channel late Tuesday, Tahtawi claimed that Morsy’s supporters outnumbered his opponents, the tens of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square and around the country notwithstanding.

“No going back. I do not want to speak menacingly, but we are prepared for any escalations,” said Tahtawi. He added that the president’s office welcomes peaceful freedom of expression, but warned, “Any attempt to stir trouble outside of peaceful protesting will not be faced leniently.”

Indeed, journalists have been prominent fixtures at the protests as well, and at least two journalists were beaten by Morsi's security.

So far, it looks like Morsi will ride this one out, as at least the secularist protesters are not the types to mount a violent uprising, and nothing short of that will change anything.

Following are excerpts from a show featuring Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Fattah Abu Zayd, which aired on Tahrir TV on November 23, 2012.

Abu Zeid: Our enemies conspire against us. Conspire or you shall be conspired against. When our enemies used armed force against us, they failed ignominiously. They realized that the use of armed force against Muslims is futile, because Muslims have the element of confrontation, the element of resistance, the element of Jihad for the sake of Allah. They realized: Armed force would be futile against those Muslims, because they love death as much as we love life. So they replaced the armed force with soft power.

Do you know what "soft power" is? It is urges, sex, women and 4.2 million porn websites on the Internet. Just imagine – 4.2 million porn websites, the number one purpose of which is to corrupt the nation of Muhammad. Brothers, who finances those 4.2 million websites? This is just the number of websites. The number of internet porn pages is 420 million, the purpose of which is to corrupt the nation of Muhammad, to corrupt you. When the use of armed force failed them, they decided to use soft power, to invade the hearts and minds of the nation of Muhammad.

It was said in The Protocols of the abominable elders of Zion that alcohol and prostitutes would be capable of destroying Muslim youths more than a thousand cannons. They will drown them in urges and desires. That is their plan.

I have a feeling that this preacher is familiar with more than a few of the 4.2 million websites.

I'm still getting dozens of hits a day from people searching for "Arab six video" .Here are a few recent ones:

Richard Falk outdoes himself again with his embrace of terrorists and seething hatred for the Jewish state.

In a November 18th article he wrote for - where else? - Al Jazeera, Falk liberally sprinkles lies on top of a serving of half-truths to come up with conclusions that would be universally considered the ranting of a lunatic if the object of his vitriol would be anything besides Israel.

It is too tedious to fisk completely - I've done that many times, and life is way too short to spend on someone as already thoroughly discredited as Falk - but for those late to the game of exposing this United Nations Special Rapporteur, here are some quickies:

Referring to Israel's attack on Ahmad Jaabari, Falk writes:

Such an extra-judicial killing...remains an unlawful tactic of conflict, denying adversary political leaders separated from combat any opportunity to defend themselves against accusations...

Yes, Falk is saying that the leader of Hamas' terror wing, the Al Qassam brigades, is a "political leader." Falk knows this and lies.

Gaza, which is one of the most crowded and impoverished communities on the planet...

People living in Egypt, only a few miles away, are far more impoverished. As are large swaths of Africa, Asia, and South America. Gazans have malls, supermarkets, luxury hotels, plenty of food, tons of goods, nice cars and more. Not to mention that the "refugees" get free medical care and education. Falk knows this and lies.

Israeli removal of troops and settlements [in 2005] was little more than a mere redeployment to the borders of Gaza, with absolute control over what goes in and what leaves...

Two words: Egypt and tunnels. Falk knows this and lies.

From an international law point of view, Israel's purported "disengagement" from Gaza didn't end its responsibility as an Occupying Power under the Geneva Conventions...

Really? every man, woman and child in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem is armed? Falk knows this is a lie, and lies anyway.

The top Hamas leaders have made it abundantly clear over and over again that they are open to permanent peace with Israel if there is a total withdrawal to the 1967 borders and the arrangement is supported by a referendum of all Palestinians living under occupation.

Hamas has never, not once, even implied a permanent peace with Israel. Ever. And its terms for a truce include the destruction of Israel by allowing millions of fake "refugees" to flood it and become citizens.

Falk knows this, and lies.

But even if you can excuse a UN representative for his constant lies, his anti-semitism, his embrace of Hamas terrorists - just check out how he describes medium range Iranian rockets, with 100 kg. of explosives, being fired at population centers of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem:

It is truly alarming that now even the holiest of cities, Jerusalem, is threatened with attacks, but the continuation of oppressive conditions for the people of Gaza, inevitably leads to increasing levels of frustration, in effect, cries of help that world has ignored at its peril for decades. These are survival screams! To realise this is not to exaggerate!

Yes. Shooting rockets at women and children aren't mere war crimes, but they should be understood to be survival screams.

French children's magazine Youpi published this in its latest edition. The translation is "We call these 197 countries state...

Hasbys!

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون

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